help me beat a dead horse

Collision96
Wed, 13 Aug 2014 03:41:38 +0000

Four Year Graduation Rates:
Reed = 59.8%
Grinnell = 86%
This is obviously important. At Grinnell you can even talk with your advisor to make a plan to graduate in six or seven semesters if you have a good reason to graduate early.
From what I understand of Reed students, they don’t get out in the city that much anyway. Actually, they seen surprisingly uninvolved in anything besides academics. I’ve read someone on here say that Reed students are not “joiners” which I think leads to a dull on-campus life. I like political activism and am very liberal. In general, Reed students talk about politics but don’t really apply their ideas in practice.
It sounds from you post that money is not a factor for you. Either way, Grinnell has a commitment to being need-blind and meeting 100% of financial need. Reed is not need-blind. This means that there is more economic diversity at Grinnell. This is an example of Grinnell’s social justice principles in action.
Based on my visits, I’m convinced that Reed students are much less socially adept and weirder than Grinnell students. I actually liked this about Reed students. It just depends on what you like.
Reed has a gorgeous campus. Grinnell’s campus is nice as far as architecture but it doesn’t have the pretty scenery.
Double majoring is pretty much impossible at Reed and highly discouraged. I didn’t realize this until I visited. The curriculum is rigid. Grinnell’s curriculum is open but it is directed by your advisor. There is so much more room to explore and change your interests at Grinnell.
All of Reed’s is geared towards getting a PhD. Grinnell also has exceptional rates of students getting PhDs but there are just more options at Grinnell.
Grinnell has this really cool “Liberal Arts in Prison” program that students can volunteer at. The students can tutor or even teach classes that the students design themselves to local prisoners. The program allows prisoners to earn a year of Grinnell College credit while in prison. When I saw this I was sure that I wanted to go to Grinnell to participate so I think I should spread the word. (There are other volunteer programs; I just get excited about fighting the prison-industrial complex!)
The students who go to Grinnell are there to make an intentional prairie community for learning. It’s in the middle of nowhere but that’s a part of the charm. The people at Grinnell are willing to give up the excitement of the city to focus on the Grinnell experience. The students come from all over; Grinnell has twice as many international students as Reed. While Grinnell students are in the rural Midwest, they pursue academics along with engagement with the community and the rest of the globe.
Endowment per Student:
Grinnell = $749,309
Reed = $255,459
The endowment at Grinnell is enormous. You see the money all over campus. The buildings are beautiful and new. The students talk about all the money that Grinnell will spend on the students for summer research, internships, and club expenses. I didn’t think that money made such a difference until I visited.


Those are my totally biased thoughts on Reed and Grinnell. I’m not entirely qualified on this subject but I applied and visited both schools. Grinnell accepted me with nice merit aid and financial aid and Reed waitlisted me (I am holding a grudge). No one else was answering on this thread so I thought that I might as well so Reed wouldn’t get an unfair bias due to their larger online presence.